Today I’m beginning a sequence of reflections about vision. On Sunday morning I mentioned the passage that used to be translated “Without a vision the people perish” (KJV) but which we now understand to mean “Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint” as it says in the NIV. I take that to mean “where God is not being revealed, people lose a sense of mission, vision, and purpose, and each operates according to their own individual or familiar vision.” I am already forming a theory that Nobleford CRC has looked appreciatively into the rear view mirror for a significant time, but in doing so has possibly not paid attention to planning the road ahead and picking a destination other than continuing the past. So this posting is a first in a series. I don’t know exactly where it is going, and was surprised myself by what I created this morning. Without a Vision, Things Die, Part One.

I wrote a new reflective article on how some of the things we value culturally in the church become barriers to newcomers feeling welcome even though we don’t intend that. You can read it here: “No More Joiners.“